Missing In Action
by LuxDelareux
Summary: When Abe goes missing after a mission, it is not until the B.P.R.D is forwarded a random phone call that they are alerted to his whereabouts. This seemingly innocuous event will become the turning point in Abe's life, changing it forever.
1. MIA

**Author's Note:** This story is mainly based on the comics, although I have taken a few points from the movie. One major detail is Abe's lack of a respirator since he doesn't use one in the comics. My personal theory is that he has a labyrinth organ, which allows him to breath out of water (this inspiration was due in part to my beta fish). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, look up betas on the net. In my personal opinion, the movie sucked, so Abe is most definately NOT psychic in this fic. Other than that, all is well, so enjoy!

**Disclaimers:** Hellboy et al belong to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, while any movie details are property of Sony Pictures.

**November 23, 1:48pm**

Hellboy looked around suspiciously as he entered the lobby of the apartment building. The ride over had been uneventful, though slightly disconcerting. Hellboy still hated the fact that he had to ride around in a garbage truck, but unfortunately it was the only thing big enough to comfortably accommodate his six-foot frame. Not to mention all the other gadgets and machinery that was required of a B.P.R.D. agent.

Ever since he was a teenager, Hellboy had been the resident monster-slayer and general muscle-power of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. He had access to almost anything that he needed in order to defeat the evils of the world. He kept anything that might be useful on a mission in the garbage truck where it was within easy access. But right now, the only thing on Hellboy's mind was the one thing missing from the truck.

He had tried not to listen to the water sloshing around in the empty tank near the back of the truck. Abraham Sapien, the only other person within the bureau as unique as Hellboy, was MIA, and truth-be-told, Hellboy was worried. Abe would not have delayed his return unless he had been captured, injured, or worse.

The conditions with which Abe had disappeared were not the most positive ones. The last time Hellboy had seen him, Abe was being dragged underwater by a nasty-looking guardian demon. Hellboy and Abe had been sent to find the source of a number of deaths in a factory on the Mill River. No bodies had been found, but a number of hearts and lungs had been found floating in the water that connected with the river underneath the factory. Apparently there had been rumors of treasure underneath the factory, so a couple men dove down to find it. There they met up with the guardian demon, which proceeded to rip out their vital organs. That was when the surviving workers called the B.P.R.D. The next thing he knew, Hellboy was blasting a hole in the demon, and Abe was gone.

It wasn't until the next morning that the bureau received a telephone call from the Fairfield Police Department. A phone call had come in about a strange looking man found on the riverbank, who the caller had transported to their residence. The B.P.R.D. was given an address, and Hellboy was immediately put into action.

He was going in alone, and armed, just in case. He pressed the button for apartment 5b, and heard the intercom crackle to life.

"Hello?" a woman's voice said.

"Uh, I'm here for the fish-guy," Hellboy said into the intercom.

A high-pitched buzzing resounded through the small foyer, and Hellboy quickly opened the door. As he stepped into the elevator and pressed 5, he made sure that the Samaritan was loaded, just in case. He walked down the hall and stopped in front of a door, knocking on it.

Immediately, deep barking came from behind the door, and Hellboy instinctively moved his hand to rest on his holster. After a moment the barking stopped, and he heard the lock being undone. The door creaked open and a young woman looked out apprehensively.

"Um, hi. You must be Hellboy, come on in."

She opened the door wider and Hellboy stepped into the apartment. By the door sat two black, impressive Great Danes. The came up to sniff him as the woman closed the door behind him. As she turned around, she noticed Hellboy eyeing the dogs.

"Don't mind them, they just get a bit excited when someone comes to the door. The one on your right is Cerberus, and the other one is Mauthe."

Hellboy raised one of his eyebrows at her.

"You named them after hell hounds?"

The woman shrugged.

"Not many other people know what the names mean and they sound interesting, so they stuck."

Hellboy patted Mauthe on the head and turned back to the woman. She looked about 25 years old and had shoulder-length blonde hair, which was tied up in a ponytail. She smiled as he met her eyes.

"I'm Audrey McCoy," she said holding out her hand. He shook it as gently as he could.

"Hellboy. So you found Abe?" he asked, looking around. The apartment was small, but had a clean-lined, modern feel. Big windows looked out onto the Mill River from the living room, which connected to a small kitchen.

"Your friend? Yeah, he's in here." She walked him down a short hall leading from the living room, both dogs clicking after her.

"I bandaged him up as best I could, but he's still in pretty bad shape," she said as she led him into a bathroom.

Audrey went over to the bathtub and there was Abe, eyed closed, floating in the water. His blue-green skin was pale and his gills were fluttering erratically as he tried to take in as much oxygen as he could. He had makeshift bandages wrapped around his right shoulder and lower abdomen, and both were stained red.

Hellboy spoke into his communicator, "Can someone bring a stretcher up for Abe, he needs to be looked at."

"So how did you find him?" he asked, turning back to Audrey.

She sat down on the toilet-seat cover and the two dogs came and sat next to her.

"I was out walking these guys early this morning and they found him washed up on the river bank."

Hellboy nodded his understanding. Abe must have floated out of the factory with the current after the demon attacked him.

A tone rang through the apartment.

"I'll go buzz them in," Audrey said getting up and going back into the living room. After a few moments she came back in and hugged her arms.

"This is going to sound weird, and I know you can't tell me anything about your organization, but if you could somehow let me know how he's doing once you get him back to wherever you're from..."

She said everything in one big breath as she looked at the ground. She glanced up at Hellboy.

"I just want to know he's okay."

At that moment two B.P.R.D. agents came through the door with a stretcher. They lifted Abe out of the bathtub and gently placed him on the stretcher, then whisked him out the door. Hellboy watched them go, and then rummaged through his trench coat.

"I know I'm going to get into shit for this, but why don't you come see him for yourself in a couple of days."

He wrote something on the back of a business card and handed it to her. The graphic on the front of the card was of a circle with a hand holding the hilt of a sword, and Hellboy had written an address on the back.

Audrey looked at it then tucked it away in her pocket, as they walked into the living room.

"Well, I'd better get going," Hellboy said, heading out the door, "Thanks for finding Abe." Then he was gone, closing the door behind him with a click.

**Author's Note:** Constuctive criticism is welcomed, but no flames.


	2. Recovery

**Author's Note: ** Here's the next instalment. I'm going to try and get a chapter out every Friday, and I'll try to give warning if there won't be an update. I've got almost two month's worth of chapters done already, but this way it's a bit more spaced out. 

**Disclaimers: ** Hellboy et al belong to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, while any movie details are property of Sony Pictures.

* * *

**November 28, 11:16am**

Abe was back to his usual self after a few days of rest, and a whole lot of liquid Band-Aid to keep his stitches clean. Luckily, the bureau kept it in bulk.

Once he was released from the infirmary, Abe could return to his quarters or swim around in the much roomier tank in he library, although he still had to get frequent check-ups.

It was during one of these that Hellboy came waltzing in, smoking a cigar.

Abe was sitting on an examination table, in the middle of having the laceration on his stomach prodded by one of the resident nurses. She gave Hellboy a nasty glare, which clearly told him to put out his cigar.

"Ya got a visitor," Hellboy said, taking the cigar out of his mouth and jerking his thumb behind him.

Audrey came to stand hesitantly beside Hellboy, clutching her jacket in front of her, visitors pass hanging from around her neck. Hellboy took it upon himself to make introductions.

"Abe Sapien, Audrey McCoy, a.k.a. the one who saved your blue ass."

Hellboy took great delight in making Abe feel sheepish. Hellboy was still mad at Abe for making him worry, and took it out on him however he could.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Abe said politely, extending a webbed hand.

Audrey shook it and smiled.

"I hope you're feeling better," she said. "The last time I saw you, you were looking a bit worse-for-wear."

Abe grinned, "Nothing a few stitches can't cure, as you can see. And at least now I've finally surpassed Red in our stitch-count battle."

Audrey winced in sympathy at the sight of the railroad tracks going down his right side.

The nurse examining Abe stood up and looked at him satisfactorily.

"You're all set," she said. "Now don't go over-exerting yourself. I don't want to be stitching you up again any time soon."

Abe thanked her and hopped down from the table. Audrey shifted nervously, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Well, I'd better get going," she said quickly, "I just wanted to come by and see how you were."

She turned to leave, but stopped when Abe spoke.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay for a cup of coffee? Hellboy and I were just going to get one."

Audrey smiled slightly.

"That sounds nice."

The three of them walked out of the infirmary towards the staff room, Abe and Audrey following Hellboy.

"So I hear you're interested in hell hounds..."

* * *

"She likes you."

Hellboy flipped through one of the large tomes that Abe was currently reading, smoking another cigar. Abe swam languidly past the glass of the aquarium, kicking with his feet as he stretched his arms over his head. He brought them back down quickly and took in a sharp breath at the stab of pain from his injured side. He would really have to take it easy or that nurse would have his hide.

"And how do you know that?" he asked, turning around in a graceful arc and making another pass. "She seemed pretty distant to me."

Hellboy rolled his eyes, "Jeez Abe, for a guy who reads four books a day, you're pretty slow."

Abe glared at him, "And what exactly does that mean?"

"You mean you didn't notice the way she looked at you? Come on Abe, you've gotta be pretty thick not to notice that!"

Hellboy put the book back on its stand, "All I'm saying is, next time she comes to visit, find someplace other than the staff room to have coffee, and be a bit more observant."

With that, he walked out the door, leaving Abe with his thoughts. Hellboy had put the book back upside-down, but Abe didn't notice.


	3. Demons and Hell Hounds

**Author's Note: **I'm actually staying on schedule here. I decided to make use of the garbage truck that Abe and Hellboy use in the movie. Also, just to clarify about the tank in library, it's not where Abe lives like in the movie, he has regular quarters like in the comic, but I thought he should have something to swim around in. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. Hope you enjoy the chapter. 

**Disclaimers:** Hellboy et al belong to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, while any movie details are property of Sony Pictures.

* * *

**December 4, 8:28pm**

Audrey stepped into the library and was surprised to be bathed in dancing light. The aquarium took up a whole wall, and the water inside reflected what little artificial light was available underground. Audrey stepped closer and saw the lithe figure swimming serenely in the tank. She knocked gently on the glass and was rewarded when the figure stopped short and swam towards her. She waved and Abe waved back.

"Hi," she said, "As promised, I brought the hell hounds for you to meet."

She gestured at her waist where her two Great Danes stood formidably.

"Excellent," Abe said smiling, "I'll be right out."

He then swam towards the surface where Audrey assumed there was access to the library. He came down moments later, still dripping wet, with a towel around his shoulders. He was clad only in his shorts, and Audrey had to keep from staring at his slender, yet muscled physique.

"So these are the infamous Cerberus and Mauthe," he said as he let the dogs sniff his hands. He was oblivious to the fact that Audrey was had her eyes locked on the ground. "Hellboy warned me that they were huge."

Audrey smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah, they're big, but they're both teddy bears. Most people don't want to mess with one Great Dane, much less two. I'm not as afraid to go out walking by myself when I have them to protect me. I don't know what I'd do with out them."

Abe continued to scratch both dogs behind the ears. The awkward silence that followed was soon interrupted by a flashing red light and an alarm, which made both of them jump.

"_Code Red. Code Red. Code Red._"

Hellboy poked his head in the door and called out, "C'mon Abe, let's go fight some monsters. We're going to a place near your apartment, Audrey, so we can drop you off if you want," he added.

Audrey nodded and followed Abe out the door.

* * *

The drive to the location of the red alert was not long, and Hellboy, Abe and Audrey sat on the benches in the garbage truck in silence. Hellboy kept looking from Abe to Audrey, as if he was going to say something, but seemed to decide against it, and kept quiet. Audrey sat with Cerberus and Mauthe sitting at her feet and Abe busied himself getting everything together that they would need for the mission. Someone had been attempting some amateur black magic in a run-down hotel, and had accidentally summoned a lesser demon. The summoner had already been 'taken care of', so all he and Hellboy had to do was round up the demon. The truck slowed to a stop, and Hellboy stood up. 

"Well, let's get this over with so I can go back to watching Fear Factor. They were just about to make them eat live cockroaches, and I really don't want to miss that." He turned to Audrey, "See ya later."

Audrey waved goodbye and stood up.

"I'd better be getting home. It was nice seeing you again, Abe. Good night."

She stepped out of the truck before Abe had a chance to say anything in return. He sighed, and followed Hellboy into the abandoned hotel.

Inside the hotel was pitch black, the wiring for the lights useless after years of neglect. The flashlights they had cast a brief glow over the peeling paint and graffiti on the walls.

"Here demon, demon, demon." Hellboy cooed sarcastically, cocking the Samaritan. "You know Abe, sometimes I think we're just glorified dog catchers."

"Yeah," Abe agreed, "Except the dogs we catch could rip someone's head off in one swipe."

"That just makes it all the more interesting," Hellboy grinned. "So, were you and Audrey able to have a more private conversation this time?"

Abe stepped over a rotten beam on the floor in front of him.

"If by conversation you mean awkward silence, then yes, we did."

He ducked under a painters tarp hanging from a doorway.

"I still don't think that she's interested."

Hellboy followed Abe through the doorway.

"Trust me on this one. If I had a dollar for every-"

Abe put a hand up to silence him. He pointed to the back corner of the room they had just entered. In the dim beam of his flashlight stood the demon they were looking for. It had black scales covering it's body and five long, black talons on each of it's paws. It's body resemble that of a bulldog, but about four times the size; muscular and compact, with it's elbows turning out to the sides. It's face was snubbed, and it's oversized bottom canines protruded over it's upper lips in an underbite. It's red eyes were squinted into slits as the demon growled menacingly, whipping it's forked tail from side to side.

"Aww, don't you just want to pick him up and cuddle him?" Hellboy gushed, holding up his gun.

Abe held up his own gun and aimed it at the demon, "This is one dog I don't want following me home."

* * *

Audrey had just about made it around the corner when she heard the gun shots. 

'_I guess they found what they were looking for,'_ she mused continuing on her way. Then she heard another shot. And another.

She turned around, puzzled, to try and see what was going on in the hotel. It was too dark outside to see much, so she started moving back towards the garbage truck to get a better view. Then she saw something dark come crashing though the front of the hotel in a shower of plaster and rotten wood. Whatever it was landed on its feet and looked around thrashing it's...forked tail? She squinted in the dark as the thing looked around, trying to decide where to go next. Then she heard the growling.

It started low, but began to get louder. The thing whipped it's head in her direction and that's when she realized that it was Cerberus and Mauthe that were growling. The two dogs had their hackles up and their heads down, feet planted formidably. The demon growled back, and began to move towards her. The dogs started barking, straining on their leashes, and as the demon got closer and closer, they lunged at it. Audrey couldn't keep a hold on their leashes and they charged at the demon.

She heard more gunshots and running as Hellboy and Abe lept through the hole in the building created by the demon. Audrey stood where she was, frozen to the spot as her dogs attacked a predator twice their size. They were a mass of black, twisting and snapping, claws and teeth digging into scales and fur. She heard one of the dogs yelp as the demon ripped into him, and that was when Abe finally reached her.

"Don't look," he said, pulling her towards the truck. He quickly opened the back and pushed her in as another yelp rang through the street. Then Abe heard a shot, and everything went quiet.


	4. Aftershock

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the non-update last week, so here's a double update. Please note that there will most likely not be an update next week, as I have a Calculus final the next day. I swear, once all my exams are finished, the updates will be more regular. I'm not very fond of this chapter (I find it sort of corny) but hey, not every chapter is going to be amazing.

**Disclaimers:** Hellboy et al belong to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, while any movie details are property of Sony Pictures.

* * *

After sorting all the details out with the rest of the agents, Abe and Hellboy returned to the truck. When they stepped in, Audrey was sitting on the bench with her knees pulled up to her chest, her head resting on her arms. She looked at them morosely as they came in. She already knew what had happened.

Neither Abe nor Hellboy spoke, unsure if there was anything they could say that would help. Instead, Abe sat down next to Audrey and put his arm around her. For a moment he thought she would push him away, but then she leaned into him. He could see her eyes cloud over, and a silent tear made its way down her cheek. Another followed, and soon she was sobbing into her arms. Abe pulled her closer, hugging her to him, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Do you want us to take you home?" he asked gently.

She shook her head slightly, and took a shuddering breath.

"That's okay, you can stay with us tonight."

Hellboy nodded from his seat across from them.

The rest of the way to the bureau was silent. Abe just sat there, hugging Audrey to him, trying to provide whatever comfort he could. He knew how much the dogs had meant to her, and understood that she didn't feel safe at night without them. Once they arrived, Abe found an empty room with a bed, and guided Audrey to it. He turned to leave, but she stopped him.

"Can you stay? Just until I fall asleep. I don't want to be alone."

Abe turned back to her and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Sure."

She climbed into the bed and lay on her stomach with her head to the wall. Abe sat in the standard issue plastic chair, and listened to her breathing. Just someone being there made all the difference, and Audrey was soon fast asleep.

**

* * *

**

**December 5, 6:04am**

Audrey woke with a strange feeling of peace. She snuggled into her sheets and reached out to pat one of her Great Danes. Instead, her hand was stopped short by a wall.

She opened her eyes and everything came back to her. Her sense of peace was gone, replaced by only grief. She heard something behind her and jumped. Looking quickly over her shoulder she saw a figure sitting in a chair by her bed.

Abe was sitting in the same place he had been when she fell asleep. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and he was fast asleep, his head lolling on the back of the chair. Audrey rolled over and watched him for a moment. His chest rose and fell evenly with each breath, and he shifted, frowning slightly as he sank lower in the chair.

Audrey quickly made up her mind and got up, trying to be as quiet as possible. She didn't want to deal with the awkward situation that would only be made worse if Abe woke up while she was there.

She put on her shoes and started for the door. On a final note, she placed a blanket over Abe, careful not to wake him, and then she was gone.


	5. Christmas

**Author's Note:** Here's the second-half of the double update. Enjoy.

**Disclaimers:** Hellboy et al belong to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, while any movie details are property of Sony Pictures.

* * *

**December 19, 2:58pm**

Abe looked around the foyer of the building, adjusting his hat so it cast a shadow over his face. He pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of his trenchcoat and looked at it before pressing a button on the wall.

He waited for a minute, and when there was no answer, turned to leave. He was almost out the door when he heard a mechanical voice.

"Hello," it rasped.

Abe dashed back to the intercom and spoke into it.

"Audrey," he said, "It's Abe."

"Uh, yeah, come on up."

Abe opened the door when he heard the tone, and entered the elevator. It had been almost two weeks since he'd woken up in a chair next to an empty bed. Abe figured that Audrey would contact him again when she was ready, but after so long, he wanted to check up on her. Audrey's door was open a crack when he reached it, and he removed his hat and sunglasses as he entered the apartment tenetively.

"Hello?" He called out, when he saw there was no one in sight.

"Just a sec, I'll be right there!"

Abe looked around the apartment. There was a small Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, and some fairy lights around the moldings, but little else in the way of decoration. Audrey came padding down the hall a moment later, obviously disheveled, although she was doing her best to disguise it.

"Hi," she said sluggishly, eyes crinkling in a smile. She was wearing a pair of tattered boxer shorts, a hoodie over a tank top and fuzzy slippers. She had put her hair in a hasty ponytail and was trying to suppress a yawn.

"Did I wake you?" Abe asked, his voice tinged with guilt.

"No, no," Audrey tried to reassure him, "I should be up. I just havn't been sleeping well, so I've taken to sleeping during the day. Please, come in."

She gestured towards the living room.

"I won't keep you," Abe insisted, "I just wanted to see how you were. How are you?"

Audrey shrugged, "I'm all right. I'd be a lot better if I could sleep though."

Abe gave her an empathetic look, "Well I won't keep you then."

He put his hat and sunglasses back on. "If I don't see you, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," she said, and closed the door behind him.

**

* * *

**

**December 25, 3:36am**

Audrey sat on her couch, mindlessly flipping through TV channels. There was a distinct lack of quality programming at three in the morning. As usual, she was too tense to sleep, despite the fact that she'd only been getting an average of 2-3 hours of sleep a day. She sighed, and pulled the blanket closer around herself. In the back of her mind, Audrey was hoping that if she continued to stay awake, then she'd eventually exhaust herself into sleeping through the night.

Ever since she was young, she'd had issues sleeping. She had an overactive imagination, and could clearly picture someone breaking into her house while she lay in bed. That was one of the reason's that she'd bought her Great Danes when she started living by herself. She was able to sleep soundly knowing that they'd alert her if anything was wrong. Now they were gone, and she couldn't sleep.

After flipping through every channel and finding nothing of interest, Audrey was contemplating watching a DVD. She hadn't had her annual screening of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas yet, and technically it _was_ Christmas Day, after all.

Audrey was rummaging through her movie collection when she heard a knock on her door. She froze, her hand clutching a DVD. Slowly, taking care to make the least noise possibly, she tip-toed towards the door. Trying to control her breathing, she looked out of the peep hole. There was no one in the hall, but that didn't make her feel any better. She sank against the wall, heart racing, contemplating what to do.

Making up her mind, Audrey grabbed an umbrella to use as a weapon if she needed it, and opened the door, keeping the chain on. She scanned the hall, still seeing no one.

'_Maybe I'm hearing things,'_ she thought to herself, _'I really need to get some sleep or I'm going to start hallucinating.'_

She was about to close the door when she looked down and saw a large, brightly wrapped present with a tag hanging from it reading To: Audrey. Steeling herself, Audrey opened the door all the way and looked both ways down the hall. Still no one. She bent down and dragged the box inside. It was about the size of a computer box, and it had a good weight to it.

Closing the door behind her, Audrey started cautiously unwrapping the box, still uneasy about the whole ordeal. She had just finished removing the wrapping paper when the box moved. She quickly opened the box and was shocked to be assailed by fur and a wet tongue. Attempting to escape the clutches of the box was a Great Dane puppy. Stunned, Audrey picked the puppy up and put him on the floor where he continued to jump all over her. He was probably about 6 weeks old, and was a beautiful fawn colour; tan with black points.

Audrey was able to keep him still long enough to grab the piece of paper tucked underneath his collar.

_Something to help you sleep._

_Merry Christmas._

_-Abe_

Audrey couldn't contain the smile that crept over her face. Laughing as the puppy tugged on her hair, she picked him up and cuddled him. And for the first time in two weeks, Audrey slept soundly.


End file.
